The internet has backed a woman who inadvertently got her colleague arrested at his own nuptials, for allegedly stealing his ex-wife’s wedding dress.
The 38-year-old shared the wild tale to Reddit, under username Throwawaywedding4869, as she explained she used to work with a couple, Mary and Adam.
They joined at different times, and worked in different departments, with the woman explaining Mary worked with her.
Eventually Mary left to pursue another career. Her friend said: “Now Mary is the kindest and loveliest person I’ve ever met. She was always polite, helpful and would cheer anyone up. We missed her dearly.
“So it came to a shock when we found out she is divorcing Adam because he has cheated on her. I have called her to express how sorry I am that this has happened to her and we were talking almost daily ever since.”
Throwawaywedding4869 praised her former colleague, saying: “I was impressed how well Mary holds herself in such a situation, she wouldn’t bad mouth Adam and the only thing she mentioned was how her wedding dress and a few family heirlooms went missing when she was moving her stuff from their apartment. She thought they might be misplaced in a different box and will turn up eventually.”
Weddings are expensive affairs, with the average wedding in the U.S. in 2019 costing $33,900, according to Statista.
They worked out that the average cost of a wedding gown was $1,600 that year in the U.S., although the Redditor didn’t disclose where they’re based.
Fast-forward a few years, as she was now working in the same department as Adam, who she said can be “dismissive and ignorant sometimes.”
He invited her, and the whole work team, to his upcoming wedding to Chelsea, the woman he cheated on Mary with.
“As the entire department was invited, I said yes, making sure Mary is OK with this. I’ve also told her where the wedding will be. (It’s not too far from where she lives and we could go for some drinks after if she wanted to,)” she explained.
On the day of the wedding, she finally saw the bride but noticed her outfit looked familiar.
She said: “I have noticed that Chelsea is wearing a similar dress that Mary worn in the photos of hers and Adam’s wedding years ago.
“So without thinking I have snapped a picture and send it to Mary with the caption saying: ‘doesn’t this dress looks familiar?’ Mary saw the message but she didn’t respond and about an hour later the police shown up at the venue.”
Throwawaywedding4869 revealed the cops hauled the newlyweds down to the station, as she continued: “Police has asked Chelsea to take the dress and all the jewelry off, Chelsea refused and started arguing with them, and then Adam joined in. As they were rude to the police, they were taken to the police station.
“Everyone at the wedding had to leave. I have tried to call Mary but she wouldn’t pick up the phone.
“As we found out later Chelsea was wearing Mary’s wedding dress and her heirlooms, Mary spotted them on her in the picture I sent to her and called the police. Apparently, she has previously asked Adam if he had them, and he declined, saying he never saw them.
“So after she saw the picture she knew he was lying and stole them. Chelsea had to leave the wedding dress and jewelry at the police station and go home wearing her underwear and Adam’s jacket after they were bailed out.”
Unsurprisingly, Adam went “mental” at her after they returned to the office, as he blamed her for what happened as she sent Mary the photo of his new wife in her dress.
The post, shared on Saturday, has been upvoted nearly 20,000 times, as people slammed Adam’s actions.
In the comment section, Throwawaywedding4869 explained the dress was distinctive, saying: “Mary’s dress has a very unique and almost handmade design, and from what she told me, the heirlooms are old.
“You won’t find them in a normal jewelry shop, and pawn shops would either sell them for crazy amount or send them to the museums as a part of history. They are really pretty and look great with the dress, making the bride look like a princess from older Disney cartoons.”
Numerous people commented on the situation, with Groundbreaking_Mess3 saying: “I mean, if you’re getting married and your fiancé says ‘don’t buy a dress, I already have one for you,’ that should raise some questions, at the very least.
“Especially if you know he has previously been married. There’s no way Chelsea didn’t know.”
Grace_Alcock wrote: “Yeah, I bet he told her it was grandma’s or something. No way she knew it was Mary’s. I feel for the poor woman, getting stripped down at her wedding, but hopefully, she’ll rethink the relationship with Adam altogether.”
MissTheWire joked: “I’m guessing ‘sloppy seconds’ was the wedding theme.”
Ghostvania wrote: “The cheating, stealing, and hubris to show off the stolen items at his wedding, only for all of it to come crashing down so spectacularly… Just beautiful.”
Emmawood2200 pointed out: “How many other people must have recognized the dress? His family and his old friends must have been at his first wedding. This is crazy.”
Wedding dress rental services have soared in popularity in recent years, with numerous websites and apps dedicated to connecting brides with their dream dresses, for a fraction of the cost of buying one.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson‘s wife, Carrie Symonds, opted to rent her wedding frock from My Wardrobe HQ when they tied the knot in 2021.
Symonds, who recently gave birth to the couple’s second child, reportedly forked out just £45 ($60.84) for the Christos Costarellos gown, according to Tatler. She also rented a further three “decoy” dresses to keep her choice under wraps.
Newsweek reached out to Throwawaywedding4869 for comment.
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